issues

Pharmaceutical Task Force


Background
The Pharmaceutical Task Force was established by the Minister of Health Services in November 2007. The mandate of the Task Force was to provide recommendations on 5 key areas of pharmaceutical management:
  1. Optimization of decision-making processes for pharmaceuticals and devices in a way that is timely, transparent and evidence-based while protecting the public interest;
  2. Procurement and service delivery options for pharmaceuticals and devices to achieve maximal value to patients while at the same time providing value for money;
  3. Strengthen common objectives related to patient care and choice and build positive relationships between government and industry;
  4. The effectiveness of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Common Drug Review process and recommendations for improvement; and
  5. The effectiveness, transparency and future role of the Therapeutics Initiative
The membership of the Pharmaceutical Task Force included representatives from the patented medicine industry, medical device and retail pharmacy communities, the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia, the Chief Executive Officer of the BC Medical Association, two senior representatives of the Ministry of Health Services, the former Auditor General of British Columbia (Alternate Chair) and the President of the University Presidents' Council (Task Force Chair).

The Task Force met on nine occasions from December 2007 through to late February 2008. It received submissions and met with a range of stakeholders, including: the BC Pharmacists Association, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores, Rx&D, the Better Pharmacare Coalition, and the Canadian Diabetes Association.

The report of the Pharmaceutical Task Force was released in April 2008. All of the recommendations of the Task Force were accepted by the Minister of Health Services. Since then, stakeholders, such as the Better Pharmacare Coalition have continued to meet with the Health Ministry and provide feedback on the implementation process.

The Better Pharmacare Coalition welcomed the decision by Government to accept the recommendations of the Pharmaceutical Task Force aimed at improving the BC PharmaCare program. We feel these are patient-focused and represent significant potential for serving the interests of all British Columbians. From our perspective, the consultation process that has occurred since the release of the Pharmaceutical Task Force recommendations in April 2008 has been marked by open, transparent dialogue among stakeholder groups and between stakeholders and the Task Force implementation team. This process has moved forward positively and constructively to a point today where a majority of health stakeholders in BC are aligned and are reaching consensus on key issues around the reform of BC Pharmacare.

To find out more information on the Pharmaceutical Task Force recommendations and to see how Government is progressing towards the full implementation of these recommendations, please review our performance-measurement tracking tool.

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